Abstract Structure and function are highly correlated in the vertebrate retina, a sensory tissue
that is organized into cell layers with microcircuits working in parallel and together to encode …

In recent years, sensory neuroscientists have made major efforts to dissect the structure and
function of ribbon synapses which process sensory information in the eye and ear. This …

Sensory synapses of the visual and auditory systems must faithfully encode a wide dynamic
range of graded signals, and must be capable of sustained transmitter release over long …

Bassoon and Piccolo are two very large scaffolding proteins of the cytomatrix assembled at
the active zone (CAZ) where neurotransmitter is released. They share regions of high …

Vision is the most fundamental of our senses initiated when photons are absorbed by the
rod and cone photoreceptor neurons of the retina. At the distal end of each photoreceptor …

Calcium influx through voltage-gated Ca (CaV) channels is the first step in synaptic
transmission. This review concerns CaV channels at ribbon synapses in primary sense …

Cochlear inner hair cells (IHC s) develop from pre‐sensory pacemaker to sound transducer.
Here, we report that this involves changes in structure and function of the ribbon synapses …

The regulated release of neurotransmitter occurs via the fusion of synaptic vesicles (SV s) at
specialized regions of the presynaptic membrane called active zones (AZ s). These regions …

The sensory epithelium of the mammalian inner ear contains two types of mechanosensory
cells: inner (IHC) and outer hair cells (OHC). They both transduce mechanical force …

Hair cell ribbon synapses exhibit several distinguishing features. Structurally, a dense body,
or ribbon, is anchored to the presynaptic membrane and tethers synaptic vesicles; …